Control circuits for many types of electrical equipment which are provided on a circuit board frequently require a power transformer. If the transformer is not unduly large, it can be mounted on the circuit board along with the circuit components and the connections made from the transformer to the components through the conductors on the circuit board. If, however, the transformer is relatively heavy and bulky, it is impractical to mount it on the circuit board and it is necessary to mount the transformer in an adjacent location. The wires of the transformer must then be connected by lead wires to the terminal pads and this may entail the use of an additional connector on the circuit board. The specific embodiment of the present invention disclosed herewith and described below provides a simplified method of connecting wires extending from a coil, such as a transformer coil, to terminal pads on a circuit board. The principles of the invention can, however, be used under other circumstances to connect wires to terminal pads on a circuit board.
The invention comprises a multi-contact electrical connector for connecting wires to terminal pads on a circuit board, the terminal pads being arranged in a row which extends along one edge of the circuit board. The connector is of the type comprising an insulating housing having a board-receiving face and a rearward face, first and second sidewalls extending between the faces and endwalls at the ends of the housing. A trough-like board-receiving opening extends into the board-receiving face and is dimensioned to receive the one edge of the circuit board. A row of spaced-apart terminal receiving cavities are provided in the housing, the row of cavities extending beside the board-receiving opening. The terminals are dimensioned to be received in the terminal-receiving cavities, each terminal having a wire connecting end and a contact end and having wire connecting means at its wire connecting end and contact means at its contact end for contacting the terminal pad on the circuit board. A connector in accordance of the invention is particularly characterized in that the terminal-receiving cavities extend into the housing from the board-receiving face and have inner ends which are proximate to the rearward face of the housing. Circuit board stop means are provided in the board-receiving opening and located between the inner ends of the cavities and the board-receiving face of the housing. Each cavity has associated therewith aligned first and second wire-admitting slots which extend into the housing from the board-receiving face, the first and second wire-admitting slots also extending inwardly from the first and second sidewalls respectively. Wire stop means are provided for each cavity and located between the inner end of the cavity and the circuit board stop means so that a wire can be moved laterally of its axis towards the board-receiving face and into the wire-admitting slots. The wire will then extend through the associated cavity at a location between the inner end of the cavity and the circuit board stop. The wire connecting means on each terminal comprises a wire-receiving slot extending inwardly in the terminal from the wire connecting end. Upon placement of the wires in the wire-admitting slots and insertion of a terminal into each of the cavities, the wires will be received in the wire-receiving slots and thereby connected to the terminals. Upon insertion of the one edge of the circuit board into the board-receiving opening, the contact springs of the terminals will contact the terminal pads on the circuit board.
In accordance with further embodiments, each terminal comprises at least one plate-like sheet metal member, the contact means comprising a leaf spring which is integral with and extends from the contact end of the terminal. In accordance with a further embodiment, each terminal comprises parallel spaced-apart first and second plate-like members and spaced-apart connecting straps extending between, and integral with, the plate-like members at the wire connecting end of the terminal, each of the plate-like members having a wire-receiving slot therein.
In accordance with a further embodiment, the housing is integral with a coil support of insulating material.